Company
by Vargras
Summary: Naofumi ends up with an unexpected bedmate.


Sleep was difficult to come by these days — always had been, ever since that incident with _her_, in which he had to constantly start watching his back. Things hadn't changed much since then, with his only moments of rest seemingly happening only after he reached the point of utter exhaustion, and not even an actual _bed_ seemed to help that. So it was that Naofumi Iwatani was now simply staring at the ceiling of the room they had been given within Melromarc's castle, a 'gift' from the _decent_ portion of the royal family whilst he recovered from his use of Blutopfer against that wretched priest… pope, whatever he had been.

It mattered little. He was dead now, their little rebellion quashed, and Trash and Bitch given the names and treatments they so rightfully deserved after the Queen had returned with a vengeance. And all that really remained now was for him to simply… rest, and recover from his injuries. He surely hadn't been left for wont of food and drink, or whatever else it was that his heart had desired — Queen Mirelia had made certain of that, in an effort to make amends for his treatment up 'til then.

None of that had eased his discomfort any, though. Bad memories still remained of this place, and the castle had proven to be eerily quiet at night. It hadn't mattered how big, or how comfortable the bed and the pillows had been, or how many oils and floral essences the servants had added to the bath he had taken earlier. None of it had really eased his mind at all, and had left him simply feeling…

Restless.

He felt movement down by his foot, another weight on the bed steadily moving up towards him, only to eventually settle at his side, and Naofumi couldn't help but shut his eyes tight as he sighed a bit. "Raphtalia?"

A voice responded, somewhat timidly. "...Yes?"

"You're in my bed."

"I know."

He thought she should have known better than to do this by now. It wasn't like she was some little kid anymore, and he was certain he had established fairly clear boundaries as to what was and was not acceptable between them. "Could you _please_..."

There was a gentle, insistent tug upon his shirt, and as he glanced down, he felt himself begin to trail off — this was… not the calm and confident Raphtalia he had grown accustomed to over the past few weeks. She looked utterly worn out, bags visible beneath her eyes, and there was a certain look in them that spoke of an emotion he had felt before, when he had first been falsely accused.

_Fear._

Naofumi surely didn't consider himself to be a 'good person' anymore, but turning her away now, in the state that she was in, was simply out of the question. She didn't deserve that kind of treatment, not when she had that look in her eyes. "...Alright. C'mere."

Her ears had quickly perked up somewhat, and she glanced up at him, still looking uncertain. "R... Really?"

"Yeah, really. We can't have you trying to fight when you're in the shape that you're in."

With permission freely given, Raphtalia had abruptly nestled against him, burying her face in his side and still clinging fiercely to his shirt. "...I'm sorry."

The choice of words had certainly caught him off-guard more than he'd like to admit. "Sorry for what?"

"For being such a burden to you… almost every battle we've gotten into lately, I've felt so terribly useless. I'm supposed to be your sword, and yet I can't even do _that_ right." Her grip on his clothing grew ever tighter, her voice still muffled as she refused to pull her face away from him. "I don't know why you even keep me around anymore... is it pity?"

"Raphtalia… what's gotten into you?" Much as it pained him, he recognized this behavior, this self-loathing — she had said and acted much the same when they had first found Rifana's remains. The recognition of her failure to keep the promise made to her childhood friend had evidently caused more damage to her than he had initially realized, something which had caused a sudden pang of immense guilt. She had so easily seen what had been ailing him all those months ago… how could he have failed so miserably in doing the same for her? "I thought we've been over this already."

"I know. I know. I'm sorry, Naofumi-sama, I'm _so_ sorry, I'm just—"

"Raphtalia."

"I _know!"_

"No, I don't think you do." His thoughts had immediately drifted back to what her actions had been following that first duel with Motoyasu, when it had felt like his world was crumbling around him, and that all had seemed lost. She had firmly, insistently shown that she had cared for him, that she trusted him implicitly, and she had done so with the act of a touch. To physically connect with someone was… deceptively powerful — she had done so time and again, all to pull his mind and soul back from the brink, to show that he _was_ important, at least to someone.

_To her._

It had been with that same resolve that he had wrapped one arm around her, pulling her up and on top of himself, and keeping a firm hold upon her as the tension seemed to melt out of her the moment her head lay against his chest. He wasn't sure what he was even _doing_ anymore, given how much of a shut-in he had been previously, but so much of this simply felt instinctual on some level. It felt like it had to be done, _needed_ to be done.

"N-Naofumi-sama, what—"

"Shhh. No titles tonight." He had already gently placed one hand upon the back of her head, pulling her against himself — these movements were not his own anymore, nor were the words he spoke. "I want you to listen."

Raphtalia had expected some sort of speech or lecture from him, but instead, there was simply silence. Or rather… not _just_ silence, but something else as well. It almost seemed like a faint beat, barely audible about his own slow, steady breathing. Her ears twitched a bit as she strained to hear it, but… it wasn't simply something that could only be heard. She felt it against her cheek as well.

His heartbeat.

She could already feel her face begin to burn, and yet she simply shut her eyes tight, gently nuzzling up against him. And, somehow, he didn't seem to mind at all. Her hands had already crept up to cling to his shirt once more, and… he didn't mind that either.

Instead, he had simply begun to run his fingers through her hair. So much of this still felt so alien to him, yet felt so _right_. Like this was simply something someone did when with someone they cared for. "That sound? That's for you. I want you to… _need_ you to understand, Raphtalia. What I told you in that dungeon, in front of Rifana? I meant every word of it. If I hadn't met you, I never could've gotten to where I am now. I never could've cleared my name. I would've just been… angry and resentful at everyone and everything, probably for the rest of my life. But… it was through you that I was shown a way forward."

"Naofumi-sa—" Her attempts to peer up at him resulted in a quick finger upon her lips to silence her, leaving her almost as red in the face as she had been just moments before.

"Just 'Naofumi' tonight."

Blinking a bit in shock, she soon continued. "Naofumi, I… I keep thinking back to everything that's happened, and I can't help but feel as if I don't deserve any of this… by what right do I have to still be alive when so many of my friends died? By what right do I have to be at your side?"

"I… can't answer that for you, you know. But… I think if I did have to give an answer, it'd be that…" He stared off somewhere into the distance, resting his hands in the small of her back as he gently sighed. "...you're remarkably strong-willed, to have lived through what you have, and to have survived. That grit, that determination to keep on pressing forward, no matter what? It's… inspiring. I'm… proud of you, you know."

Raphtalia had no real response of her own, other than to simply try and bury her face in his chest once more. _Anything_ to try and hide her own fierce blush. "...this doesn't seem like you at _all_, Naofumi-sa— Naofumi."

"Is me being nice that uncharacteristic?"

"...a little."

Naofumi couldn't help but scowl a bit at her answer — surely the man he used to be couldn't be _that_ far gone.

"But." Her hands relaxed somewhat, and it was only then that she started to realize just how small she must have seemed compared to him. After all, she had… never actually been close to him like this since she had fully matured. "I know you're a kind person at heart. I'm just… not used to it."

"Mm. I guess you wouldn't be. Still, you… looked absolutely _terrified_ earlier, when you first got in my bed. What even happened?"

The demihuman suddenly grew a bit more anxious, tightening her grip on his shirt once more.

"You have a nightmare?"

She slowly nodded, seemingly ashamed of herself.

"I thought you were over it?"

Raphtalia's grip tightened further, and Naofumi silently cursed himself for even daring to say such a stupid thing to her. _He_ still had nightmares of his own, thinking of all the 'what if's and 'could have been's, dating as far back as that first false accusation to be hurled at him. He wasn't in any real position to ask such a thing.

"...Sorry. What was it about, Raphtalia? Was it your village again? Rifana?"

A slow shake of the head.

"Your parents?"

Another shake of the head, and her grip continued to tighten. If this went any further, her nails were liable to go straight through the fabric and into his skin.

"What was it about, then?"

Her answer was quiet, already muffled by his chest, and consisted of a single word. "You."

"_Me?"_ He tried to process the thought, the sheer _idea_ of it, that he was evidently important enough for her to have dreams—and nightmares—about. But to only realize that _now_ was also perhaps the very definition of stupidity, and he knew it. He had always been important to her — how could he even be that surprised? "...How often does it happen?"

"You mean… the ones about you? It comes and goes. It… seems to get more frequent after you've been hurt. More intense. The past two nights have been full of them."

"And… what happens in them?"

Upon hearing the question, she sharply inhaled, sending her nails piercing through his shirt and into his flesh. The realization of what she had just done followed soon after, drawing a whimper out of her — though Naofumi treated her well, he was still her master. And she had just hurt him. She fully expected reprisal through activation of the curse seal upon her chest, and yet…

"Shh, you're safe, Raphtalia. You're okay." He had instead wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her close as he cooed to her. "I'm right here, okay? We don't… have to talk about it."

"I just—"

"Don't worry about that. Just look at me."

"You're _bleeding_ because of—"

"_Raphtalia._ Look at me. Please."

Slowly, reluctantly, she did as she was told, forcing her face away from him so she could look him in the eyes, and… there it was. That gentle, concerned face of his that she had seen before, in all of the times when _she_ had been hurt. It was the other side of him, the other 'self'. His _true_ self.

"Whatever happened in those nightmares of yours… forget about them, fight them... do whatever you have to so you can shut them out. Because I promise you, it'll never come to pass." One hand moved from her back, drifting to cover up and gently hold one of the fists she had made against his chest. _"I_ am your shield, Raphtalia. No matter what happens, no matter who or what we're up against, I promise I'll be there for you."

With a sigh, she simply laid her head upon his chest once more, her grasp upon him relaxing again. "...thank you, Naofumi. That… means a lot to me, to hear you say that."

"Had to be said, what with you beating yourself up like that. That kind of talk isn't allowed anymore, understood?"

"Y-Yes, of course. I'm, um, sorry for hurting you earlier, by the way."

"Barely even felt it." A brief pause, before he started to run his fingers through her hair again. "I think… your parents would be proud of you too. And Rifana as well."

"...really? You think so?"

"How could they _not_ be, knowing what you've done?"

"I guess you're right, though…" For the first time that evening, Raphtalia managed to giggle a bit. "I think Rifana would probably be horribly jealous of me."

"Mm." Naofumi had already dropped his head back onto his pillow, staring at the ceiling once more as he continued his motions with his hand. "She was the one that really liked the Shield Hero, wasn't she?"

"Mhm. Wanted to marry them, even."

"You don't say."

Another faint little laugh slipped out of the demihuman, her ears fluttering a bit in amusement. "You know, you're surprisingly affectionate when you want to be, Naofumi."

"You can consider this a one-time thing, then. We are _not_ making this a habit." He had been doing his very best to look as irritated as possible, but that was a tall order indeed when she was this close to him.

Ignoring his expression, Raphtalia had crept up his body a tiny bit more, placing her own head close to his as she eyed him with a look of curiosity. "And if I have more nightmares?"

"Then…" He couldn't help but groan a bit, given the situation — he was effectively trapped. His presence seemed to put her at ease in cases such as this, and he couldn't exactly have her trying to fight much of anything while sleep deprived. That, and… well. He _was_ admittedly becoming fond of Raphtalia. She was a stalwart companion and a dependable ally, one of the very few people he could actually trust, and… loathe as he was to accept it, the slight pangs of loneliness he felt here and there _did_ bother him at times. "Ugh, _fine_. It'll be a standing exception. If you've got nightmares keeping you up, just… _quietly_ do whatever. We can't afford to have you exhausted in the middle of a battle."

"If you say so…" Her voice had taken on a decidedly teasing tone, though she silently wondered if he would have even noticed. "Naofumi, may I ask something else?"

"Like?"

"How… should I sleep next to you?"

"Whatever helps you sleep the best, I guess."

"Then…" Sliding off his chest, she had already rolled to face away from him, glancing over her shoulder as her ears flattened a bit. "This is… a bit selfish of me, but… would you mind holding me?"

"What, from behind?"

"Well, y-yes…"

Though she expected him to protest somewhat at her sudden neediness, he instead obliged, rolling onto his side and gently wrapping an arm around her stomach to pull her against himself. "This good?"

"Y-Yes." How fortunate for her that she was facing away from him — it meant he couldn't see how hard she was blushing, though her _very purposely_ draping her tail over his waist certainly wasn't doing her any favors. "Thank you again for doing this for me, Naofumi."

"It's fine. Just get some rest, Raphtalia."

"Of course." There was a brief moment of surprise as her head was propped up by a sudden pillow, no doubt pushed into place by him, and a sign that he truly _did_ care even when he had difficulty showing it. "Good night."

This certainly hadn't been how Naofumi had expected to cap off his day, but… she had been in need of assistance, and he had been able to provide it. And… she was rather soft. And warm. And— no, such thoughts could wait 'til later. He could _actually_ feel himself getting sleepy, and as his eyes slowly shut, it was all he could manage to mutter out a sleepy, "Good night, Raphtalia."

It was to be his first night of true rest in Melromarc.


End file.
